MHERST - The bad news for the University of Massachusetts
men's basketball team is that senior shooting guard Monty Mack has a stress fracture in his foot.
The good news is that Minuteman coach Bruiser Flint doesn't think it will cause him to miss any
games.

As of Wednesday, Flint was in Boston and wasn't sure which foot Mack injured.

Mack told the UMass coaching staff Tuesday that his foot didn't feel right and he was held out
of the team's conditioning run. He went to the doctor later that afternoon and was diagnosed
with the stress fracture.

"I think it's a build-up thing," said Flint, who was unsure how long Mack would be off the floor.
"It comes from overuse. It took Lari and Charlton four weeks to come back from it. He's going
to do the operation (today)."

The Minutemen open their season Nov. 20 at Iona, which gives Mack more than six weeks to
heal.

"We're not going to rush him back, because we don't want him to go out there and break it
again," Flint said. "But we're trying to make it so he doesn't have to miss any games."

* * *

Insider's Report, an Internet recruiting Web site, is reporting that two top California guards have
scheduled official visits to UMass later this month. Jameel Pugh, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, and
Wesley Stokes, a high-scoring 5-9 point guard, both will be on campus the weekend of Oct. 23.

"I like USC, TCU, St. Louis, Massachusetts, and Nevada," Pugh said. "I have trips set up to St.
Louis and Massachusetts, which might mean something."

Mack Out With Stress FractureUMass senior guard Monty Mack is expected back by the season openerFrom UMass Athletics, 10/7/1999

MHERST, Mass - The University of Massachusetts basketball team
announced today that senior guard Monty Mack (Boston, Mass./South
Boston H.S.) underwent surgery today for a stress fracture of the fifth
metatarsal of his left foot. He is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

“This is an unfortunate break for Monty because he was in the best shape
of his life coming into this season,” said UMass head coach Bruiser Flint.
“The fortunate aspect is that it was detected now and not later.”

Mack enters the 1999-2000 season as the active leader in career scoring
for UMass with 985 points in his first two seasons. A starter every game
in his UMass career, Mack led the Minutemen in scoring a year ago with
18.1 points per game and was awarded the team’s most valuable player
award at the end of the season.

The Sporting News recently ranked Mack as the 17th-best shooting
guard in the country, tops in the Atlantic 10, and teamed with Shannon
Crooks as the 10th-best backcourt in the nation.

niversity of Massachusetts basketball senior guard
Monty Mack underwent surgery yesterday for a stress
fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He is
expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

"This is an unfortunate break for Monty because he was
in the best shape of his life coming into this season,"
UMass coach Bruiser Flint said. "The fortunate aspect is
that it was detected now and not later."

Mack enters this season as the active leader in career
scoring at UMass, with 985 points in his first two
seasons. Mack, who has started every game during his
UMass career, led the Minutemen in scoring last season
with 18.1 points per game and was named the team's
most valuable player.

The Sporting News recently rated Mack 17th among
shooting guards in the country and No. 1 in the Atlantic
10. The publication also rated Mack and Shannon Crooks
as the 10th-best backcourt in the nation.

Mack is expected to be back on the court in time for the
season opener, which is Nov. 20 at Iona in New Rochelle,
N.Y.

The Minutemen, who went 14-16 last season, will need
Mack for the strong early schedule before the Atlantic 10
campaign begins. Two nights after the opener, UMass
faces defending national champion Connecticut at Storrs.

Before the new year, the Minutemen play Boston College
(Dec. 4 at the Worcester Centrum), Villanova (Dec. 6),
Florida State (Dec. 18) and Providence (Dec. 30), all
away from campus. They will also travel to San Juan to
take part in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic Dec. 21-23.